Arraignment set for parents of Rochester students who skipped school

Wednesday

Jan 30, 2013 at 3:15 AMJan 30, 2013 at 11:32 AM

By Samantha Allensallen@fosters.com

ROCHESTER — After establishing a controversial program that received national attention last year, the Rochester Police Department has announced an arraignment date for at least six local parents and guardians who will face violation-level offenses for allegedly allowing their children to be truant.

Police Capt. Paul Toussaint said that on Feb. 11 at 8 a.m. in Rochester Circuit Court accused residents will wait for a hearing during a general arraignment session. Toussaint previously said people charged in the department's new truancy program — where guilty offenders may pay up to $1,000 in fines or opt to take a diversion program at the station — would be those who “don't care” about their student's excessive tardiness or absenteeism in school.

“They are parents (who) after review from the School Department and the Police Department we feel warrant charges,” he clarified Tuesday afternoon.

Detective Steve Gahan, who works in the police department's prosecution office, said he hand-delivered court summonses to the six identified offenders and he has approximately four or five additional cases to review at the request of the School Department.

He noted the process is taking longer than expected, where he initially thought an arraignment for parents and guardians would be held in January. But, he said the schools are taking their time with families to make sure they have made options available to them before the police step in.

“The school wants to make sure they've exhausted all of their resources before referring (parents and guardians) to us,” Gahan said, “and that's slowing down the process.”

Assistant Superintendent Mary Moriarty said the School Department has had many meetings with adults who could face consequences for their children's truant behavior and said some of the conversations had been meaningful and effective. She said that was the goal of the program from the beginning.

“Our objective all along was not to be punitive but to help work with families to resolve attendance concerns,” she said.

Gahan said so far there have been some parents and guardians referred to him by the school he hasn't actually charged. Through investigation, he said he determined those people were pursuing services for their children outside of school including therapy and family therapy sessions.

“I haven't charged them because they're doing everything they can,” he explained. “Some of the parents I have served with complaints — the effort isn't there. They look at it as 'There's nothing I can do about it.' They're not taking advantage of the school programs and those are the parents we need to take the next step. If they want to choose the diversion program, that option is open to them.”

On Feb. 11, charged parents and guardians will be able to plead not guilty and have their cases go to trial or, if they enter a guilty plea, they may pay a designated fine for their violation-level charges or opt to take the diversion program, which may have a minimal fee attached to it.

Gahan noted he has learned since the Police Department's announcement of the program last November, several students are taking the new school policy seriously and are showing up for class.

Moriarty said while attendance issues crop up at different points in the year and she couldn't assuredly say attendance issues were improving for some students, she said there is an “ongoing process” that could lead to better student participation in the future.

“I think that we've definitely heightened people's awareness of the importance of being on time and present at school each day and every day,” Moriarty said. “I think that conversation was opened up through the publicity and through the work that we've been doing in the district …”

When the program was initially launched, Gahan added there were 88 students who had missed more than 15 days of school since the start of the year through mid-November. The program has been shaping up differently than expected since then, he explained, with fewer people charged. He noted if the alleged offenders are found guilty but wish to pay a fine rather than attend diversion program classes, those special classes may not even be held.

“We're still in the observation phase,” Gahan said, stating it's too early to tell if the new program has been successful. “We're sitting back and watching. We're not really going to know the impact until (the alleged offenders) are in front of the judge.”